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SPEECH 



HON. SAM HOUSTON, OF TEXAS, 



S SUBJECT OF COMPROMISE. 



.*. 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 8, 1850. 

The Senate having under consideration the resolutions offered by Mr. 
Clay — 

Mr. HOUSTON rose and addressed the Senate as follows : 

Mr. President : However incompetent I may be to repay the Senate 
for their courtesy in permitting me to address them at this time, and 
upon this subject, I feel that it is my duty to offer my views in a respect- 
ful, frank, and candid manner, as the Representative of that State whose 
interests are involved in the resolutions offered for our consideration, by 
the distinguished Senator from Kentucky, (Mr. Clay.) And in this con- 
nection, I trust it may not be considered out of place for me to make some 
comment on a resolution which I offered some days since. It is not, sir, 
that I expect to instruct or edify this assembly, but that I may acquit my- 
self of the duty which is incumbent upon me. While other gentlemen, 
more distinguished, more able, and more enlightened upon all subjects 
than myself, are casting into the treasury of knowledge, their abundance, 
I may be allowed to cast in my mite. I can only assure you, Mr. Presi- 
dent, that no one feels a more sincere desire than myself, to see the pre- 
sent agitation of this country calmed, and the violent emotions which have 
influenced the deliberations of the Congress of the United States, put to 
rest. All that I regret is, that my ability is so inadequate to the accom- 
plishment of the great work which statesmen have so often attempted in 
vain. I trust that we shall not be without gentlemen of influence, in this 
chamber, to step forward and advocate those principles which may tend 
to the preservation of this Union, the harmony of these States, and the 
happiness of us all. It is a subject of vast importance, and one in which 
all others are involved. 

These considerations awaken my solicitude for the adoption of the 
resolution which I had the honor a few days since to submit to the Sen- 
ate. It cannot be expected that the country will enjoy either happiness 
or prosperity, while we see a practical suspension of that congressional ac- 
tion which is necessary to the maintenance of general prosperity, or until 
Congress, again, in good earnest, fulfils the duties which are devolved upon 
it by virtue of its representative character. I trust, Mr. President, that it 
may not be inappropriate to request the reading of the resolution submit- 
ted by me. 

[Mr. Foote here requested the Senator from Texas to give way for a moment, that he might 
make a motion for the suspension of the rules of the Senate with regard to admission upon the 
floor of the Chamber. He had just received notice that there were many ladies waiting without, who 
had not been able to gain admittance in the gallery, and who were anxious to hear the remarks of 
the honorable Senator from Texas.] 

The r ules w ere suspended by unanimous cor sent. 
Towers, printer. 



2 - W 

The resolution was then read as follows: 

"Whereas the Congress of the United States, possessing only a delegated authority, has no power 
over the subject of negro slavery within the limits of the United States, either to prohibit or interfere 
with it in the States, Territories, or District, where, by municipal law it now exists, or to establish 
it in any State or Territory where it does not exist, but as an assurance and guaranty to promote 
harmony, quiet apprehension, and remove sectional prejudice, which by possibility might impair or 
weaken love and devotion to the Union in any part of the country, it is hereby 

•'Resolved, That as the people in the Territories have the same inherent right of self government 
as the people in the States, that if, in the exercise of such inherent right, the people in the newly 
acquired territories by the annexation of Texas and the acquisition of California and New Mexico, 
south of the parallel of 36 deg. and 30 min. of north latitude, extending to the Pacific ocean, shall 
establish negro slavery or prohibit it, that such establishment or prohibition of negro slavery in the 
formation of their State Governments, shall be deemed no objection to the admission of such State 
or States into the Union, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States." 

Mr. Houston resumed. 

Mr. President, my object in the introduction of this resolution was to 
present a ground which I believed was equitable and just, between the 
conflicting interests and prejudices of this country. I believe, in the first 
place, that the Congress of the United States does not possess the power 
to legislate upon the subject of slavery, either within the Territories, or in 
any other section of the Union. This averment is contained in the reso- 
lution which I have presented, and whatever the decision of this body 
may be with reference to the subject, I have great reason to defer to the 
opinions of gentlemen superior to myself in knowledge and experience ; 
nevertheless, in my humble way, I have the right to interpose an opinion 
where the interests of the country, and every individual within the con- 
federacy, are so vitally and materially affected. It is equally my duty to 
express here such sentiments as I entertain, upon a subject which in- 
volves, as I consider, not only my interests and the interests of my con- 
stituents, but the dearest interests of every citizen of the United States. 
For, sir, if the Constitution is disregarded, or the power of construction 
is admitted to belong to Congress, beyond the letter of the Constitution, 
where it is not indispensable to the existence of the nation, I maintain it 
is an act of usurpation, and ought not to be exercised. 

The North contend that they have a right to interfere with the subject 
of slavery : hence the Wilmot proviso. The South contend that the North 
has no such right — no right to interfere with the subject of slavery any- 
where — and hence the principle is contended for, that Congress does not 
possess this power, as applicable to the Territories — no power arising 
from the terms of the union between the North and the South — none 
growing out of the Constitution by which they are bound together. Nor 
do 1 believe that Congress has, under the Constitution, any authority to 
impose upon States asking for admission into the Union, any condition 
whatever, other than that of having a republican form of Government. 
In this view I am sustained by high authority — no less than that of a 
statesman of long experience and distinguished reputation, 1 allude to the 
Senator from South Carolina, who is now absent from his seat, (Mr. Cal- 
] .i s,) and in mentioning him, permit me to express my sincere regret for 
the cause which has withheld him from the discharge of his duties in this 
House. No one feels more sympathy for his physical sufferings thin 
myself. Thai gentleman,in laying down his principles upon this subject in 
is 17, declared them, in a resolution of that day, almost in the terms of the 
resolution just read. 1 had not the benefit of the light of that resolution 
when 1 drew the one submitted by me, but, I believe,~Tiad I possessed it, 
I could noi have been more fortunate in the expression of the very view 
which 1 entertained. (Mr. Calhoun's resolution was here read:) 



3 

Resolved, That it is a fundamental principle in our political creed, that a people, in forming a 
Constitution have the unconditional right to form and adopt the Government which they may 
think best calculated to secure their liberty, prosperity, and happiness; and in conformity thereto 
no other condition is imposed by the Federal Constitution on a State, in order to be admitted into 
this Uni6n, except (hat its Constitution shall be 'republican,' and that the imposition of any other 
by Congress would not only be in violation of the Constitution, but in direct conflict with the prin- 
ciple on which our political system rests." 

Sir, this is the old Missouri line policy, and that which should be ad- 
hered to with reference to the Territories which have been recently ac- 
quired. We have examples of the adoption of this policy in various instan- 
ces, as for example, in the admission of Texas into this Confederacy of States. 
I have always believed, Mr. President, that Congress does not possess the 
power to interfere with the subject of slavery, and I further believe that, 
so far as any expectation or hope of compromise is involved in this mat- 
ter, the only method for the attainment of that object is for the North to 
abstain from all encroachments upon Southern rights. The surrender of 
fugitive slaves is guarantied by the Constitution, and I can conceive no 
serious cause of difficulty that can grow out of that question, if the con- 
stitutional provision is regarded. Let the North abstain from all en- 
croachments upon Southern rights, in relation to the Territories and the 
District of Columbia ; then I believe that all serious ground of complaint, 
upon the part of the South, will be removed. 

I maintain that, when the Territories are erected into States by their own 
action, that, in the formation of their constitutions under which they ask 
admission, the people of the Territories have the right to give their own 
form to their own institutions, and in their own way. 

Let these grounds be assumed — and they are grounds which, it seems 
to me, the North and South can take without the sacrifice of any prin- 
ciple — then no collision can occur, and all complaint will cease. It will 
be a reconciliation, an adjustment of all the causes of difference which 
now agitate the Union. And I trust that these views may prevail. We 
do not ask the North to concede anything. We merely ask them to ab- 
stain from aggression. The South only asks that her rights be respected 
in relation to the Constitution of the United States, by which all the States 
are bound. 

If the compromise line of 30° 30' is continued, inhibiting slavery 
north of that line, and the States which may be formed south of it be 
authorized to claim admission into the United States with such mu- 
nicipal regulations as they may choose to form, according to the nature 
of their social and domestic institutions, the whole matter is at an end. 
How trifling the sacrifice would be. What would it be ? Would it be 
the sacrifice of fanaticism ? Would it be the sacrifice of a disposition 
to carry on a crusade against the rights of their brethren of the South ? 
Would it be too much concession to the spirit of conciliation, to discounte- 
nance a few fanatics at the North, who are rabid upon the subject of aboli- 
tion ? It is not the views of the great North — it is not the sons and descend- 
ants of those who united in establishing the liberties of this country, and 
who have cemented them with their blood, of whom the South now com- 
plain. No, sir, they are bastards, they are aliens to their fathers' princi- 
ples. But the misfortune is that their numbers are unascertained, and it 
is believed at the South, because a few have assembled in some obscure 
corner and come out with their manifestos against slavery, and in favor of 
abolition, that the whole northern country is opposed to the interests of the 
South, and completely imbued with the pernicious views of abolitionism. It 
is our great misfortune, that opinion is manufactured here to be dissemina- 



ted throughout the country, like rays of light radiating from the centre, to il- 
lumine the benighted region at home, and to affect certain private or politi- 
cal ends. I am opposed to this manufacture of opinion for home consump- 
tion — for the creation of a factitious popularity for members of this body 
and of the other and more numerous branch of the National Legislature. 
Men who are thus actuated speak not for the purpose of conciliation — not to 
calm and allay the excitement which exists, but to irritate and increase it. 
Such a course tends to wound and exasperate those whom they deem less 
informed than themselves, instead of harmonizing the jarring elements 
which exist in the country at this time. If they would be explicit, less 
harm would be done. If, instead of saying that so and so is the case, at 
the North — that the North has done such and such things, which are ag- 
gressive — if it were simply said that the abolitionists of the North had done 
it, and not the people, the fact would be correctly stated — if the fanat- 
ics of the North, who derive all the elements of their strength and capa- 
city for mischief and notoriety from the agitation of this subject, were 
spoken of as a contemptible minority, far less harm would be done, and 
justice would be rendered to the feelings and the claims of those 
who reside at the South. It is wrong to malign the numerous friends 
of the South in the North by confounding them with the fanatics 
to whom I have referred, and with whom they have no other connection 
than that they inhabit the same division of this great country. This im- 
portance ought not to be given to a handful of fanatics. By this means, 
they obtain oil ior their lamps ; but neglect them, they will perish, the oil 
of their lamps will become exhausted : they will give no light : they 
will be disregarded ; and even if they continue to exist, they would be 
powerless in their efforts to effect injury to the South. They can do little 
by their own exertions to disseminate their pamphlets and documents of 
various sorts, if they are not aided in their efforts to destroy the peace of 
the country by politicians who desire to manufacture capital for them- 
selves. I do not hold the great North responsible for all this. I do not hold 
responsible those men who are patriotic and sincere friends of the Union. 
I regret that the disposition to interfere with the institution of slavery, 
to inhibit the exercise of their rights to the Southern States and people — 
rights which all free people have to regulate their own domestic institu- 
tions — exists at all at the North ; that any should wish to interfere with, 
or obstruct, the rights of the people of the territories to adopt such form 
of republican government as they may choose, for they would, subse- 
quently to their admission to the Union as States, have the obvious right 
to modify their Constitution so as to adopt or prohibit slavery according to 
their own will and pleasure. But I do not charge this disposition upon the 
people of the North, and to do so is, I think, to discourage our friends there, 
and to misinform and mislead the South. We ought to draw the line dis- 
tinctly between those who are disposed to support the Constitution by 
sustaining the rights of the South, and those who are willing to carry on 
a crusade against rights preexist ent to the Constitution of the Union itself. 
If the power, Mr. President, is not clearly and definitely given to the 
Congress of the United States to legislate upon the subject of the territo- 
rial Governments, it strikes me that there is great force in the position, 
that to assume it would be to violate a fundamental principle of our 
Government, which is, that the people (by which I understand the people 
of the Territories as well as the people of the States) have the right of 
self-government under the Constitution. Congress has the power to make 
needful rules and regulations for the territories and other property of the 



United States ; but these rules are temporary. They may apportion the 
land, and they have a right to do whatever may be necessary in order 
to dispose of it. They may provide for the boundaries of the territories, 
in order to give them compactness and judicious dimensions, and they 
have power to authorize the formation of Territorial Governments, to 
exist no longer than until it may be convenient for the people to legislate 
for themselves. Such are the powers necessarily resulting from authori- 
ty delegated by the Constitution to Congress, but beyond this, 1 think, we 
cannot safely go. I believe that the exercise of a power not clearly given 
is nowhere so dangerous as in the Congress of the nation — more so than 
in any of the coordinate branches of the Government. That body is 
more numerous, and therefore more dangerous, in the exercise of any 
usurped power. They are the immediate representatives of the people, 
and consequently have a more direct influence with them, and have a 
greater control, from that circumstance, over the feelings and passions 
of the community. The more numerous the body, the less is the indivi- 
dual responsibility. What is done by all, is chargeable to no one in par- 
ticular, and thereby the individual responsibility is diminished. The Sen- 
ate, being further removed from the people, has less influence upon their 
immediate action. The House of Representatives is more numerous than 
the Senate, and for these reasons, while it is one of the most influential, 
it is the least responsible branch of Congress. Numbers, as I have re- 
marked, divide and lessen the responsibility, and hence usurpation will be 
more easy and dangerous. The author of any particular misdemeanor is 
not easily detected. In the coordinate departments of the Government, 
though they derive their powers from the people, still it is not so directly 
done, and, being less numerous, their influence at home is less, and respon- 
sibility is more directly fastened upon the offender. In the judicial and 
executive branches of the Government, therefore, usurpation is less likely 
to occur, and less dangerous from personal influence when it does occur. 
If the judicial or executive departments of the Government were to act 
inconsistently with their high duties, the delinquent could be readily as- 
certained, pointed out, and punished. 

Unfortunately, Mr. President, when these dissensions first commenced 
between the North and the South, they were comparatively unimportant 
in their extent, but time added fuel to the flame, and has now brought it 
to a conflagration difficult to extinguish. Excitement has been produced 
by each of the conflicting parties. It is the misfortune that men have 
approached this subject regarding it as a matter for sectional victory or 
defeat. They have not regarded it as they should have done, with 
reference to the perpetuity of this Union. They would then have readily 
reconciled the diversity of opinions which existed in relation to it ; for the 
preservation of this Union is of vastly more value than any sectional 
triumph or individual advancement. Had the same energy and equal 
efforts been directed to the reconcilement of these difficulties, and to an 
attempt to allay the dissensions which distract the two sections of the 
Union, they would have ceased to exist long ago. Now* it is different. 
It was an easy matter then to do what has now become most difficult. 

But I call upon the friends of the Union, from every quarter, to come 
forward like men, and to sacrifice their differences upon the common altar 
of their country's good, and to form a bulwark around the Consti- 
tution that cannot be shaken. It will require manly effort, sir ; and they 
must expect to meet with prejudices growing up around them that will 
assail them from every quarter. They must stand firm to the Union, re- 



6 

gardless of all personal consequences. Time alone can recompense them 
for their sacrifice and their labors 5 for devotion to country can never be 
forgotten, when it is offered freely, and without expectation of reward. 
The incense of self-sacrifice, when thus offered on the altar of their coun- 
try, will be acceptable to the people. I have no doubt that this question 
might be easily adjusted, if gentlemen would encourage such disposition 
and feeling as doubtless actuate a large portion, if not all, of this body J 
if they would come up to the work, I have no doubt six Senators here 
could be designated., \vithout reference to party, (you may, if you please, 
disregard the sectipn of country from which they come,) who would act 
as a committee of conference, and sit down together as wayfaring men, 
and produce satisfactory reconciliation, thereby diffusing universal peace, 
and calming the agitated waves that are Jashing at the base of our capi- 
tol, and speak comfort and solace to millions of freemen. Do not the 
American people love this Union ? Are they not devoted to it ? Is not 
every reminiscence of the past associated with its,glories, and are they 
not calculated to inspire prayers for its prosperity and. perpetuity ? If this 
were not the case you might think lightly of our noble Confederacy; but 
so it is — it stands connected with every fibre of the national heart, and 
interwoven with every glorious recollection of the past, which affection or 
reverence can inspire in the minds of the American people, it is not, Mr. 
President, that twenty-three millions of souls alone are involved in the 
perpetuity of this Union — it is not, that every consideration of happiness 
connected with country, apoertained to it ; but. it is because it is the great 
moral, social, and political fever that has moved, is moving, and will con- 
tinue to move, the world. Look abroad at foreign nations, and behold 
the influence of our example upon them — not ours, for I feel a sense of 
humiliation when I contrast the efforts of any man now living with the il- 
lustrious achievements of the departed sages and heroes who performed 
this mighty work. The most beautiful description that I have ever heard, 
or that my eye has ever lit upon, with reference to the greatness and subli- 
mity of our noble Union, I extracted from a poem which recently ap- 
peared, in Wheeling, within the limits of the Old Dominion— so pre-emi- 
nently distinguished for her statesmen and her warriors. From this it 
would appear that true patriots are Jiot yet extinct even in her remotest 
borders. +Jo says, when speaking of those who would favor disunion— 

" Can such prove worthless of i l heir great bequest, 
A nd smile upon Disunion's G, orgon crest? 
V/'io will surrender up his join * estate 
Ml ■' <• rich memory of our coun, ''j' 8 &&& i 
And ;v.-ho his blood bought share, <" ons ent to yield 
Jn Saratoga's or in Yorktown's fi'el '<*•" 

He has aptly connect! associations, not sectional in their character, 
but peculiarly fraternal. Saratoga in 'the f "forth, and Yorktown in the 
South. It shows that by- the joint efforts of L xotn sections of this nation, 
the liberties of the country were achieved, and ' the "ujon consummated. 
• *' Oh! by eut father's common toils and fame, ' 
By all the glories of our country's name, 
I By that high, mission that commands her still, 
The measure of her destiny to fill, 
By all the hopes of myriads through the world, 
Whose only stars are. en our flag unfurled, 
And who, amid their.' lorg and dreary night, 
.Knew not begids, one lingering ray of light, 
; By richest gifts to country ever given — 
forbid the sin and shame, protecting Hoaven !" 



if sentiments like these inspired every mind ; if emotions like these 
dwelt in every heart ; if every heart dictated such action, there would 
be no just reason to fear of a dissolution of the Union. An idea of that 
character would be treated with abhorrence by minds embued with pa- 
triotic and virtuous sentiments. 

I regret, Mr. President, that the distinguished Senator from Kentucky, 
who has been remarking on that little section of the Union called Texas, 
should have questioned her right to the boundary for which she has ever 
contended — the only one that she ever asserted — the only one by which she 
has ever been known to the American people — one, too, sir, that was 
never controverted by Mexico. On this subject I will not detain this 
honorable body, but will leave it to abler hands to make a thorough in- 
vestigation of the whole subject, if it has not been done already by my 
colleague, and the representatives from my State in the other House. This 
investigation, I trust, will leave no doubt as to the validity of the claim 
and the justice of our rights. I would state in passing, however, that 
at the time Texas was annexed, or at the meeting of her first organic 
Congress after the adoption of her Constitution, she was recognized with 
the boundary as declared in her statutes, and as exhibited to the United 
States. With that boundary she was recognized by the United States, 
England, and France — with that boundary she was recognized by Hol- 
land and Belgium, and with that boundary she was annexed. That 
boundary was recognized in the protection that was accorded her as a 
State of this Union after her annexation ; and it was again solemnly rati- 
fied by the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo ; and the map defining her 
boundary to the Rio Grande, from its source to its confluence with the 
Gulf, is acknowledged beyond all doubt or question. The first time I ever 
heard this boundary disputed, (for that difficulty never originated with 
Mexico,) was in this country. The question of boundary was never dis- 
puted between the two countries. Mexico never disavowed the boundary 
•claimed by Texas, but declared even after the war had progressed for 
years, that any Mexicans found one league east of the Rio Grande, 
■would be considered as within the limits of Texas, and would be treat- 
ed as traitors. That was a practical relinquishment of all title to 
the land in question ; and it has never been regarded in any other light 
until it was unfortunately presented here as a subject for arbitration, and 
was never a question in dispute between Texas and Mexico ; and I do 
hope it will be, at least, regarded in an impartial manner. It is not my 
province or intention to comment upon our boundary beyond the simple 
statement I have made, leaving the work of investigation to gentlemen 
abler and better informed. 

I was delighted to hear the other day the honorable Senator from Ken- 
tucky give assurance to this honorable body, that he was prepared, upon 
the subject of the reclamation of slaves, by their Southern owners, to 
go as far as any other gentleman ; I was gratified, because I knew his 
influence throughout the whole country; and as his political party 
exists as well in the North as in the South, I trust he will, at least, 
conciliate the members of that party, whilst his well-known talents, po- 
pularity, and long services, would impress deeply the public mind with the 
justice which the South demands, and which the North can only refuse 
by a violation of the Constitution. 

I regretted extremely the other day to hear the Senator from Alabama 
make use of an expression — to be sure, it was under great excitement, and I 
hope if he should deem it necessary, I may be allowed to consider this cir- 



8 

cumstance a palliative for such a declaration of sentiment — which I con- 
sidered unfortunate and not calculated by any means to allay the feelings 
that are growing up, or that have grown up, in this country. The honora- 
ble gentleman declared in these sentiments — extreme in their character — 
which he uttered, and which referred to disunion as the point at which the 
South had arrived — that he spoke for the whole South. I trust that I may be 
permitted to say, humblcas I am, something in behalf of my constituents 
with regard to the feelings and motives which actuate them, and which 
will prevail with them in the progress of this matter, even if it come to 
the worst. 

Mr. Clemens. Will the honorable Senator allow me to say, that he will 
find no such language in my printed speech. 

Mr. Houston. 1 have not examined the remarks in print made by the 
honorable Senator. The expression to which I have alluded so struck 
my ear, and I wrote it down at the time. I believe it was so understood 
by other Senators, but I have not the memorandum with me. 

Mr. Clemens. If the Senator has the paper he had better refer to it, 
than rely upon his memory. 

Mr. Houston. As to my recollection on the subject it is very distinct. 
It was noted at the time by me at my desk, and with extreme feelings of 
regret, because I believed it would require from me some response ; and 
everything of that character impresses me deeply ; because I love concord 
and harmony, and abhor disunion. I will pass it over and advert to an- 
other expression — whether it is contained in the printed speech of the 
honorable Senator or not, I do not know — but he said that the Union was 
already dissolved. I deny that the Union is dissolved. I trust I may go 
further, and say that I deny the power of all the ultras on earth to dis- 
solve this Union, or to rend it in twain. I trust that the wisdom of those 
who have an established and solid interest in the country, will prompt 
them to rise and rally to its rescue if it is in danger ; and that they will 
redeem it from all peril, and transmit it to their posterity as a sacred be- 
quest to them, as we have received it from our forefathers. 

Sir, the Union is not dissolved ; and I apprehend there will be less dan- 
ger of it, when the people are awakened to the slightest apprehension of 
real danger. But, has apprehension reached the homes of the people ? 
have you struck at the remotest verge of this great Union ? have you 
roused the farming — the substantial — the solid population? have they 
been awakened, or is the feeling imagined to exist from the newspa- 
per publications of the day, or from the proceedings of leading politicians 
who are preparing to mount this hobby, which they expect will carry 
them so speedily to the goal of popularity ? Are you to deduce the opin- 
ions of the American people from these circumstances ? Consider for a 
moment what a large portion of the people are at home unexcited and 
unagitated on the subject. Do you think that if there be real danger 
of a disunion, they will not be awakened from their lethargy? Do 
you think they will not feel themselves called upon to act by the appre- 
hension of such danger ? Then, sir, you will have a sincere expression, 
when you carry it to the hearths of the farmer, the mechanic who has 
every comfort of life around him, acqirred by industry, or inherited from 
patriotic ancestry, under the broad sogis of this Union, and tell him you 
have now to encounter the hazard of civil broils — of a war of desolation — 
the worst of all wars ; a war, not of race — a war, not of language, or of 
tongue, or of religion, but a war of brothers — the most sanguinary of mor- 
tal strife. Look at Hungary. Consider the civil war that has raged 



9 

between Austria and Hungary — one nation ; there it has raged with such 
violence that boys of the age of nine or ten years have been taken as con- 
scripts, torn from their homes, and the embraces of their mothers and sis- 
ters, and those mothers and sisters herded together like cattle in a pound, 
guarded by the bayonets of the soldiery, to keep them from rushing and 
rescuing their children from the ranks. Then, too, the brutal soldiery, 
pursuing their fell purpose of vengeance, despoil women of all that is sa- 
cred, tear from the bosoms of mothers their infant children, and pin them 
to the posts of the doors with swords, and bayonets, and pikes. Can you 
contemplate, sir, with calmness these scenes — are they not in the perspec- 
tive, and consequent upon disunion ? And who more able than yourself, 
[Mr. King, the Senator from Alabama — then in the Chair,] to portray the 
evil of disunion. Who dare to step forward and interpose his influence, 
his intelligence, his powerful and expanded patriotism, to arrest the pro- 
gress of this portentous evil ? 

But, Mr. President, it is not alone the North and the South — not alone 
these two sections of this vast Union, who are interested. Where are the 
Middle States ? Where is the old Keystone ? Will she hereafter look indif- 
ferently upon a subject so momentous and so deeply important to her ? Will 
she disregard it ? Will she not interpose her mighty influence to arrest it ? 
Where is the new and manly West, with all the vigor of youth, with all the 
sagacity, wisdom, and strength of manhood, and with all the valor that can 
inspire the human heart — where is the West to remain, and what is to be its 
attitude when disunion takes place? What will the North gain by disunion? 
Do not the productions of the South contribute to the employment of their 
monied capital? Their carrying trade of the productions of the South is a 
profitable one ; and their labor and their ingenuity are highly rewarded by 
the return of our own raw material when fabricated, and the sale of it in 
the South. What then has the North to gain, looking at their pecuniary 
interest alone, by pushing the South to the fearful extremity of standing 
upon their reserved rights ? Sir, if the North does not refrain, if they 
persist in their threatened aggressions upon the South, and invasions upon 
their rights established under the Constitution, the sin must lie at their 
own door, and their own threshhold will be defiled with the consequences of 
injustice to their brethren. And I ask of them now, calmly to consider 
upon it, and to reflect that they have gone far enough, that the South has 
been sufficiently excited, and that expressions too passionate for reason, 
have been indulged in on both sides. The memorials that have been pre- 
sented here sufficiently indicate the unfortunate state of feeling that pre- 
vails, and the comments they have elicited, have never been without un- 
due passion. Let them take the advice which is given in the Sacred Writ- 
ings, far surpassing all human wisdom, and emanating from the great 
Redeemer of mankind, and let that advice actuate both parties, the North 
and the South. This says, "If thou hring thy gift to the altar, and there 
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy 
gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, 
and then come and offer thy gift." 

Sir, if this feeling actuated the contending parties, and they would only 
approach these important questions in the spirit of the precept laid down by 
the great mediator of man's salvation, they would be instrumental in his 
hands in the salvation of the country. I regret that I deem it necessary to 
allude to it, but I have been reprehended for the course I have pursued on this 
delicate question, when it was much less complex than it is at this moment, 
and when I was anxious to simplify and divest it of its extraneous cir- 



10 

cumstances that were calculated to embarrass the reconciliation of these 
different interests. In the sessions of 1847 and 1848, I gave my vote 
for a Territorial Government for Oregon. My course upon that occa- 
sion, and that of others implicated with -myself, (the honorable Senator 
from Missouri for one,) has caused many reflections to be cast upon me. 
And really, if I were subject to annoyance from such sources, or if my 
honorable colleague were, we might have complained that considerable 
annoyance was given to us during the last summer, in consequence of the 
denunciations which were visited upon me for the vote I gave, and upon 
him with myself, for refusing to sign the Southern Address. In giving my 
vote for the bill establishing a Territorial Government for Oregon, I made 
some remarks upon the occasion, which, perhaps, it is not necessary to re- 
peat here. They were in open Senate, before a large audience, and all 
heard me, but, unfortunately those remarks were suppressed, and are not 
to be found in the records or journals of the debates of that session of 
Congress. And though assurances were afterwards given by the reporter 
to the Secretary of the Senate, to the late Vice President and to myself, 
that they should be forthcoming, I have been informed by those who have 
conferred with the executors of the deceased reporter, that no notes of 
those remarks were to be found among the papers belonging to that indi- 
vidual at the time of his decease. Therefore I was deprived of the power 
of vindicating myself, through the publication of the expression of any of 
my views on that occasion, and of showing to the world what my opin- 
ions were as then expressed. I adhered strictly to the Missouri compro- 
mise line. Wisconsin and Iowa, (further south still, and within the old lim- 
its of Louisiana, and analagous in situation to Oregon,) had been receiv- 
ed with the same prohibition, when they were constituted territorial gov- 
ernments, that was imposed upon Oregon. There is not a shadow of dif- 
ference, yet no one was denounced for voting for the bills establishing those 
governments. The honorable Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) 
who denounced my vote on the Oregon bill, and declared that I ought to 
be held up to the reprobation of the whole South for that vote, either vo- 
ted for or made no objection to the admission of Wisconsin, and subse- 
quently of Iowa, with the same provision, though Iowa lay south of Ore- 
gon. I cannot see why I was not as fully justified in voting as others, 
Senators of the South, who unanimously voted for the admission of a 
State with the slavery prohibition, taken from the former limits of Lou- 
isiana as acquired from Spain and France. I regret, sir, being called upon 
to make any allusion to this matter, inasmuch as the Senator from South 
Carolina, (Mr. Calhoun,) is not present. But as I have been denounced, and 
as this has been attempted to be made the subject of annoyance to me, it is 
due that in public, in my place in the Senate, regardless of everything (other 
than becoming decorum, and a due deference to the superior age and stand- 
ing of that gentleman,) that I should vindicate myself against whatever I 
deem a charge unjustly made against me. The Senator said "the South is 
accused of having yielded her principles (refering to the Missouri compro- 
mise) and as admitting the power of Congress to exclude slavery from the 
Territories. It was a compromise where both waived, but neither yield- 
ed their opinion." I was not here then, I was not an actor on that stage, 
but I will refer to the history of the subject, to the history of the times, 
and will not on this occasion refer to the memoir or diary of Mr. Adams. 
Very different, however, was the case in reference to the Oregon bill, 
passed at the session preceding the last. There the North contended for 
the absolute right to exclude slavery from all the territories, and an- 



11 

nounced their determination to exercise it, against the offers of the South 
to compromise the question by extending the Missouri compromise line 
to the Pacific. That offer was subsequently refused, and the bill passed 
without any compromise. 

Mr. President, if I am correct in the history of those proceedings, it 
was not the North—no member from the North — who moved to lay the 
bill on the table, but it was a member from the South. Yet it is charged 
upon the North. I do not intend to vindicate the North against the 
South, but I shall " nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." 
Let it be shown to the world how both parties stand in reference to this 
vexed and unpleasant question, that they may better approach the truth, 
and become reconciled to each other. The Oregon bill was not intended 
to be a practical assertion of the naked principle that Congress had the 
power contended for in the Wilmot Proviso. Senators who were then 
present will recollect distinctly that the Wilmot Proviso on that occasion 
met with as little favor from me as any measure that ever came before 
the Senate. I did not fail to place every mark of disapprobation on it 
that. I possibly could, and on other kindred projects, such as the Buffalo 
Convention, which I need not mention. But there is one remark contain- 
ed in my speech on that occasion that I will repeat. It is due to myself, 
here, it is due to the American people, and it is due to my constituency 
at home, they should know that, when declaring that I would vote for de- 
voting every foot of soil north of 36° 30' to the purposes of Free-Soil, 
agreeably to the Missouri Compromise line, and that the North might es- 
tablish there whatever institutions, conformable to the Constitution, they 
thought proper ; that when it came to the line of 36° 30', I would place 
myself astride of that line, that I would remonstrate and importune the 
North not to advance upon it, that I would employ every dissuasive 1 
could use, and if, then, regardless of the Constitution of the country, they 
encroached upon the rights of the South, that I would not only do battle 
in vindication of them, but, if needs be, would perish in their mainte- 
nance. That was the declaration contained in that speech, for which, if 
there was any credit attaching to it in the South, I have never yet re- 
ceived it, because the speech was strangled. And, sir, I was denounced, 
in connection with the distinguished Senator from Missouri, and for what 
^purpose or design I will not pretend to say, but I am satisfied, Mr. Presi- 
dent, it was not from a disposition to render either the distinguished Sen- 
ator from Missouri or myself any particular favor. If, and I say it with 
great deference, the controversy between the distinguished Senators from 
South Carolina and Missouri could have been confined to themselves, and 
they could have left me out of the question, it would have been much 
more agreeable to me, for I should have felt that I was in far less danger 
of being crushed between those two distinguished gentlemen, if I had not 
been dragged in the way, when it was not my intention to get there. 

Well, sir, if it was done for the purpose of embarrassing the distinguished 
Senator from Missouri, there is no gentleman more competent than he to 
vindicate himself, and I am sure if I were to make the attempt, it would be 
a gratuitous office indeed, and I therefore abstain. But if it was for ex- 
pressing my personal regard to the distinguished Senator, I will readily 
concede my fault, and will do it again for the sake of ancient recollec- 
tions. With his permission, I have a right to state my connection with 
;him. It was not that we, by concert, determined to give the South to the 
North, or tv .sacrifice Southern rights. I might have deferred, as I am 
.always willing to do, to the judgment of abler and more experienced Sen- 



12 

ators here, but I saw a conflict of opinion between two distinguished Sen- 
ators living in sections possessing similar institutions, and I acted upon 
my own responsibility- I have differed with the distinguished Senator from 
Missouri on the subject of the Proviso, and now differ with him on the subject 
of the powers of Congress. We are not identical in opinions upon these 
very questions which now agitate the country — and how can I be identi- 
fied with him in this matter further than the coincidence of our votes? I 
know he will derive no consolation from it, but the respect I entertain for 
the distinguished Senator from Missouri is not of yesterday. It is a recol- 
lection which passes over some thirty-six years, to the time when quite a 
strippling, and when the chrysalis of soldiership had dropped from me, and I 
came out a new fledged officer, and had the honor of first reporting to that 
distinguished gentleman, then a Lieut. Colonel of the regiment to which I 
belonged, and the first field officer I ever had. Through all our acquaint- 
ance he treated me with frankness, with kindness, and with justice. I 
had many evidences of his friendly esteem. When I was an exile in the 
wilderness, his solicitude for my welfare followed me there. He remem- 
bered me and he sent evidences of his kindness to me. And in renewing 
our association in this body, it was on my part with feelings of the most 
cordial personal gratitude. And, sir, when I forget the obligations due 
to generosity and friendship gratuitously bestowed, may my right hand 
forget its cunning. If gratitude be sin, I hope to bear the transgression 
while I live. 

Mr. President, it was my intention to have said something in relation to the Southern Address, 
but I shall make but few remarks upon it, and only those that I shall deem proper, from the fact 
that I have the misfortune to dissent, in regard to it, from the majority of Southern gentlemen of 
the same political party as myself. That address was not, in my estimation, calculated to attain 
any valuable end. I did not think it was calculated to obviate any of the difficulties which then 
existed. I then saw it was an affair of the moment, and a part of the policy which was commen- 
ced by the distinguished gentleman, the author of the address. He believing that it would not only 
be masterly, but masterful in the end. I believed it calculated to do no good, but that it would ex- 
cite the Southern people, and only drive them, perhaps, further on the road of separation from their 
Northern friends, and the abandonment of them to whatever reproaches might arise from either the 
indiscretions or bad temper of the South. I knew we had fast and tried friends in the North, and 
that it was our duty to stand by them and to sustain them. I knew, too, that some of them had 
been immolated on the altar, and sacrificed for their dovotion to the Union and the rights of the 
South. I believed also that the Southern Address was calculated to create sectional parties in the 
country, and that if we once created such parties, it would be an easy matter to dissolve this Union 
into sections also. And for these reasons, without impugning the motives of any gentleman — 
without reproaching any of the gentlemen who signed the address, or any persons who have ever 
evinced unamiable temper, here or elsewhere, on the subject — I allowed them the privilege of doing 
what I abstained from doing, claiming that such was my right. For this, too, I have been de- 
nounced. "All, sir, the little dogs and all, Tray, Blanche, and Sweetheart; see, they bark at 
me." I might say this at home, I do not say it here. I know not what the North say; I read but 
few newspapers, and have scarcely heard the current news of the day, but it has been a matter of 
sincere regret to me that the South, of which I form a part, deem it necessary at this time, and in 
consideration of what seems to be apprehended, to resort to the extraordinay mode of remedying 
existing evils, and averting others, by a Convention. But that is no new project. The plan 
originated in 1835, and it was suggested then, that if Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and I think 
New York, did not suppress the abolition societies by legislative action, and deny the privilege of 
the freedom of the press and the right of speech at the then sessions of their Legislatures, it would 
be the proper time to have a Southern Convention. That has been hanging on until the present 
time. It would not do to start in South Carolina where discontent has unfortunately, in former 
times, existed to an unlucky extent, but the little, gallant, heroic State of Mississippi, upon the 
brows of whose heroes the laurels are yet verdant and unwithered, must step forward and be 
the champion, the forerunner of this movement, while the good M State of Tennessee must be- 
come the theatre for the organization of the different representatives from the States. 

I trust what is said to demand this meeting (the passage of the Wilmot Proviso) may never oc- 
cur. I trust that day may never arrive. I have always objected to it as an indignity to the South. 
I believe the movement grew out of a bad state of feeling, without any good design, and for no 
good purpose, but was intended to consummate a design of mischief that could not otherwise be 
perpetrated. The passage of the Proviso would be an indignity, and if the North choose to take 



13 

this firebrand and thrust it into the bosom of Southern society, then they may reproach them- 
selves, and not the South, for the conflagration which they have kindled. The South will be 
then acting on the defensive and standing on their reserved rights. Sir, it is a perilous experiment, 
and one which ought not to be made. 

Mr. Foote. Does my friend from Texas wish to be understood as undertaking to deny or cen- 
sure the State of Mississippi for having originated this Convention ? 

Mr. Houston. The last thing in the world. 

Mr. Butler. Will the Senator allow me to interrogate him ? 

Mr. Houston. With pleasure. 

Mr. Butler. The Senator chooses to say, as I understood him, not having heard him alto- 
gether clearly, that from an unfortunate state of things existing in South Carolina, it seemed to 
be advisable that ihis movement should not originate there, but in the little gallant State of Mis- 
sissippi. I desire to know to what state of things the Senator refers. 

Mr. Houston. I referred to a period when I was not in the United States, and in regard to 
which my information was purely h storical. I allude to the proceedings on the subject of Nulli- 
fication — in 1832 t think it was. 

Mr. Butler. I understood the gentleman to say that this move of Mississippi was made be- 
cause of the unfortunate state of things existing at the time the movement was made in South 
Carolina. I shall not allude to past facts. The gentleman has a right to review the history of 
South Carolina, if he chooses, and I beg leave to say that I hope she will never descend from a 
position where her history may be reviewed. 

Mr. Houston. I can assure the gentleman I have no wish to detract from South Carolina, 
and if he thinks I intended any thing personal towards any gentleman who inhabits South Caroli- 
na, I will correct him by disclaiming it. 

Mr. Butler (in his seat.) Thank you. 

Mr. Houston. I believe I am disposed to appreciate South Carolina as highly as any other 
gentleman. I know her gallantry ; I know her worth, and the part she took in the revolu- 
ary struggle 5 but I know that she has, unfortunately, been identified with measures that ar- 
gued ill for the perpetuity of our institutions, so far as she was concerned at the time, and that 
stringent measures were adopted toward her ; and I say this without intending to reflect on the peo- 
ple of the State or the honorable gentleman. 

But, sir, am I wrong in stating this fact, though representing a State younger in the Confedera- 
cy than South Carolina, one of the primitive Thirteen, glorious and effulgent, rising from all the 
tempests of the Revolution, and bearing aloft every thing that is glorious in the establishment of 
our free institutions ? How could I ever forget South Carolina ? Yet, at the same time, if I 
were to seek grounds of objection in her institutions, I might find them in the fact that I do not 
admire all her constitutional provisions. Not a man in South Carolina ever voted for Governor, 
nor has he ever voted for a Presidential elector. The choice is confided to the Legislature of the 
State, and this does not accord with our theory of free Governments While I laud the patriotism 
of the people, I deplore their misfortunes and their curtailment in liberal democracy. 

Mr. Foote. I hope my friend will pardon me for asking of him an additional explanation. I 
.rust he did not intend to insinuate as matter of opinion, still less to make the statement as a 
matter of fact derived from any authority, that the sovereign State of Mississippi in the incipi- 
ent movement towards calling the National Convention, for which she is responsible, was 
instigated by South Carolina or her statesmen; or that she acted otherwise than upon her own un- 
biased judgment, without instigation from any quarter. I know that what he has said will be 
understood as intimating at least that this conventional movement of ours was stimulated from 
South Carolina, and was the result of concert between certain South Carolina politicians and cer- 
tain politicians in Mississippi, with a view of having that movement to originate in the State of 
Mississippi instead of South Carolina, in order to avoid any odium that might thereby arise. I 
am sure he did not intend to be so understood, and yet he will be if he does not correct his remarks. 

Mr. Houston. I can assure the honorable Senator that this is a very delicate and complicated 
question. But I ha. e no hesitancy in assuring him 'hat although that gentleman was very near my 
heart, my recollection was drawn at the moment to the laurels Mississippi had won by the honora- 
ble Sena or' s colleague, and by General Quitman and other heroic gentlemen of the State, and I 
did not identify that gentleman with any movement that South Carolina had made, or mean that 
he had had any agency or connection with it — not the slightest. But I believe that if South 
Carolina never had existed, and if it had not been for her disposition and for the movement that 
began there, Mississippi never would have thought of it. 

Mr. Davis, (of Miss.) I would ask the Senator from Texas to yield me the floor for one mo- 
ment, to make an> explanation. 

Mr. Houston. Certainly; with great pleasure. 

Mr. Davis. The reference being most strictly to myself, and repeated — the first time I did 
lot hear it — I will take this occasion to inform the Senator from Texas, that Mississippi acted on 
ler own responsibility. That men known in every quarter of the State first met. They did noth- 
ng; they recommended nothing, except that the people of the State should speak. The people 
n piimary meetings in the different counties of the State, did speak. It was the voice of sove- 



14 

reigns, beyond the bidding and the injurious detraction of the Senator from Texas. They spoke 
in their sovereign capacity. Their delegates met in Convention. What they ditl was at the bid- 
ding of no man; nor, sir, was it under the control of any man. 

I regret exceedingly that the Senator from Texas, in arguing what was properly before him, 
should go into the private history of the people of a State of which he can have no information. 
I tell- him — for I know the people of that State — that if he attributes the conduct of the people of 
Mississippi, or the action of their delegates in the Convention, to the dictation of the politicians 
anywhere else, or of that State itself, he is wholly wrong. I tell him, moreover, and I tell all oth- 
ers who now hear me, that the people of the Slate are at least one step in advance of its politicians, 
and that it has been the effort of patriotism on the part of her statesmen to hold the people whose 
patience has been long since exhausted. I hope the Senator will make no further invidious reflec- 
tion upon that State. 

Mr. Houston. I am sorry I have either elicited any interrogatories, or incurred any reflections. 
It was not my intention to do so. I have not gone into any reference to the private history of the 
people of Mississippi. I disavow all such intention. 

Mr. Foote. If the honorable Senator will permit me to interrupt him, I will remark, that Upon 
the point on which he has been so well answered by my colleague, I have nothing to say. But in 
addition, I wish to say that if the honorable Senator from Texas supposes that there is a single 
man of intelligence and character in the State of Mississippi who recognizes any human being as 
his leader, his political leader, or as his master, by whom, and to whom he is to be held responsible, he 
has grossly misjudged that people. I had hoped that the demeanor of those who represent Missis- 
sippi here and elsewhere, would have afforded satisfactory evidence to that Senator, and to all men, 
that highly as we reverence character, high intellect, purity of heart, and spotlessness of reputa- 
tion, there is no man who represents the Mate of Mississippi in the halls of Congress at the pre- 
sent time, who recognizes any human being in the world as his leader or controller, or as en- 
titled to have any undue influence over his mind or conduct — at any rate I speak for myself, and I 
hope the Senator will understand me when I say I recognize no leader on the face of the globe. 

Mr. HOUSTON. I believe what the honorable Senator has said ; but at the same time I must 
say, that I should distrust my own sagacity if I did not believe that both the honorable Senators 
have influence there, and a decided influence too. And more, I will say, that they ought to have 
influence ; but as to their exercising it on this particular occasion, it never once struck me to 
suppose anything of the kind when I made the remark. I imagined it had been got up by the 
newspapers, which are often in the habit of suggesting such things, that resolutions had been adopt- 
ed recommending a Convention ef the States, and that after each one had manifested his indigna- 
tion against the North, he had exhibited great affection and devotion to the South. I have no 
doubt that is the way it began, and that the honorable gentlemen are not at all responsible. They 
have not a higher appreciation of Mississippi than I have. I know they are a gallant, generous, 
and brave people, and that their hospitality flows as copiously as the proud river that washes their 
borders. I know it; and I accord to Mississippi everything that a gallant State, composed of a 
gallant people, can require at our hands. But then I must say, that I think there was a little ma- 
neuvering, which is common in all communities. 

Mr. DAVIS. I am sorry to trespass upon the atten ion of the honorable Senator, but if he 
will permit me, I will make one other remark. 

Mr. HOUSTON. Most certainly 5 I will listen to the other remark of the honorable Senator 
with the greatest pleasure. 

Mr. DAVIS. I will say, then, to the Senator, that he is altogether mistaken. These were 
not irregular meetings — they were not meetings in which men vied with each other as to who could 
adopt the most inflammatory style of address ; they were meetings of a people who acted bravely 
on account of the importance of the emergency in which they were called forth. That conven- 
tion was a convention of as repeclable men as ever met in a deliberative body. They did not 
meet to make inflammatory speeches, nor did they make them. They transacted their business 
with as much moderation and dignity as we transact ours here. The resolutions came in the ordi- 
nary way from a Committee. There was only one resolution on which there was any difference 
of opinion ; and although that resolution could have been carried by an overwhelming majority, 
it was stricken out from the number. With this single exception, every resolution was unanimous- 
ly adopted. I will say further, that this was not a party meeting. The two parties of the State, 
though very unequal in number, were there equally represented. It was the opinion of the whole 
people of Mississippi, as nearly as it could be ascertained. They intended to do it temperately — 
yes, and moderately — not in an inflammatory manner, but calmly ; because they felt, that as she 
was youmr and small, when she spoke upon matters that concerned all the Southern Slates equally, 
she should take modest ground. 

Mr. Butler, Will the honorable Senator allow me to make a declaration due to history? 

Mr. Houston. With great pleasure, sir. 

Mr. Butler. Well sir, T shall avail myself of his courtesey to correct one or two matters which, 
perhaps, may be regarded as worth the notice of history. I do not know whether they will or will 
not. The gentleman has correctly said that the action of Mississippi is referable to, and originat- 
ed no doubt, in what he calls the Southern Address. I state here on my responsibility as a Sen- 



15 

ator, upon this floor, that the meeting of Southern members of Congress which resulted in the 
Address, did not originate with South Carolina, nor was it suggested primarily by either of the 
Senators or Representatives of South Carolina. And so far as regards my distinguished colleague, 
(Mr. Calhoun) he knew nothing of it, sir, until the suggestion had been made, and until there had 
been two or three meetings of these other gentlemen. The call itself for the meeting did not originate 
with my colleague ; and, sir, three meetings occurred before he was consulted; and I am not sure 
that he was not in the first instance opposed to it. It did not originate with him. My honorable 
friend from Mississippi, (Mr. Foote) and my honorable friend from Virginia, not now in his place, 
(Mr. Huntek) met accidentally in a Committee room of this Capitol, and a conversation there 
occurred; and, sir, with the intrepidity and courage which mark the character of both, they said 
that matters had assumed such an aspect, and the position of affairs- was such, that something 
of the kind was called for. I say, sir, as a matter of history, that it originated with these two gen- 
tlemen, and was adopted afterwards by all, and by the honorable Senator from Texas; and it was 
no more suggested by my honorable colleague than by that honorable Senator. And when it is 
attempted to throw imputations on me as one who signed it, and especially, sir, upon the fair 
fame and reputation of my colleague who is absent, I am bound to stand up and put history right. 
The honorable Senator from Tennessee, (Mr. Turney) was also at the first meeting. 

Mr. Houston. I regret exceedingly that any remark of mine should hate been misunderstood. 
I thought I was pretty accurate in history. No matter who did originate the Address, I know I 
did not sign it. I did not reflect upon any one who did sign it; nor did I reflect upon any one who 
suggested it. No, sir. I have provoked no assault. But, sir, a Convention was suggested 
similar to this in a publication over the signature of M Crisis," contained in the Charleston Mer- 
cury, as far back as 1835. I do not know who wrote that, and I mention it without any reflection upon 
any one. I have said that I wished to make as few remarks as possible with justice to myself on this 
occasion, owing to the absence of the distinguished Senator from South Carolina, (Mr. Calhoun) 
and I hope I may never have occasion to make those which I might have thought I was warranted 
in making; because I respect age, I respect distinction, I respect all whose fame is connected with 
the history of our country, and which will be transmitted to after ages, and convey with it a 
proud impression as to the nobility and patriotism of those who lived in the age in which we do, 
and with whose names our actions are to be associated when we shall cease to produce commotion 
on earth. But, sir, as I am sure I shall afford an agreeable relief to the Senate, I will read from the 
"Federalist" an extract from the writings of Mr. Madison, in which he seems to have anticipated 
what now has been threatened, and which, by some moderate and reflecting persons is seriously 
apprehended. To allay that and advertise the Senate and whoever may read it, and put them on 
their guard against any of the exciting emotions that might lead them from the path of patriotism 
and devotion to their country, Mr. Madison says in "The Federalist" on the 86th page: 

"I submit to you," referring to difficulties that might arise, or admonishing what they might 
be, "I submit to you, my fellow citizens, these considerations in full confidence that the good 
sense that has so often marked your decisions, will allow them their due weight and effect, and 
that you will never surfer difficulties however formidable in appearance, or however fashionable the 
error in which they may be founded, to drive you into the gloomy and perilous scenes into which 
the advocate for disunion would conduct you. Hearken not to the unnatural voice which tells you 
that the people of America, knit together as they are, by so many cords of affection, can no longer 
live together as members of the same family — can no longer continue the mutual guardians of their 
mutual happiness — can no longer be fellow citizens of one great, respectable, and flourishing em- 
pire. Hearken not to the voice which petulantly tells you that the form of government recommended 
for your adoption, is a novelty in the political word — that it has never yet had a place in the theories 
of the wildest projectors — that it rashly attempts what it is impossible to accomplish. No, my 
countrymen, shut your ears against this unhallowed language. Shut your hearts against the poison 
which it conveys. The kindred blood which flows in the veins of American citizens — the mingled 
blood which they have shed in defence of their sacred rights, consecrate their union, and excite hor- 
ror at the idea of their becoming aliens, rivals, enemies. And if nove'ties are to be shunned, be- 
lieve me the most alarming of all novelties — the most wild of all projects — the most rash of all at- 
tempts is that of rending us in pieces in order to preserve our liberties and promote our happiness." 

Mr. President, in reading the extract which'l have just read, I knew it was giving the highest 
authority, or authority inferior only to that of one man who has lived in the tide of times as a 
statesman exempt from passion, controlled by virtuous impulses, intelligent, a mind lucid, a hand 
steady, and a heart pure. Mr. Madison dictated these suggestions ; and as such I commend them 
to you and to the American people. 

When I look at the inaugural address of General Washington in relation to the country and 
the difficulties that were likely afterwards to arise, and contemplating our present position, I will 
take the liberty of reading to the Senate an extract, which will not only be regarded by the Senate 
ivith respect, but which I hope will ever be regarded by the people, and that they will cherish it in 
ill the relations of life. It is by the cultivation of such feelings as are here inculcated that this Union 
s to be perpetuated, that jarring interests are to be reconciled, and millions yet unborn are to enjoy 
he happiness of institutions which it is our duty to transmit to them unimpaired. Then, sir, it 



16 

"AH obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under what- 
ever plausible character, with the real design to direct, con'rol, counteract, or awe the regular de- 
liberations and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive to this fundamental principle, 
and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary 
force, to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but 
artful and enterprising minority of the community ; and, according to the alternate triumphs of 
different parlies, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill- concerted and incongruous 
projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans, digested by common 
counsels, and modified by mutual interests." 

This applies with peculiar force to. obstructions attempted to be imposed by individuals, or by 
authority of the free States, in opposing the constitutional rights of the South in the reclamation 
of their property which has sought refuge among them, and which the Constitution demands should 
be surrendered. It ought to be remembered that the South are as sensitive to their rights in the 
reclamation of their property as the North can be when they suppose they are acting conscientious- 
ly in obstructing those rights. 

Sir, if I had the power— I mean the moral, social, or political power— I would enforce these admo- 
nitions, not only upon the American Senate, but upon the American people, and upon all mankind 
•who regard the civil institutions of society by which individual rights are guarantied, and I would 
admonish them not to be careless of the high destiny which has been assigned to them 5 and if the 
influences are med here that can be used, then all agitaiions will subside, the people will be 
restored to tranquility, the laws administered, and our country march on in the great highway to 
prosperity which has been pointed out to us by the sages of other times. 

Sir, we find a beautiful and harmonious concert in the feelings that have distinguished the illus- 
trious men of past times upon this subject. From Washington and Madison — and you may go to 
Jackson, in whose language, and in every line he wrote, patriotism and a love of country burned, 
and gave lustre to all his actions — well, then, if he has friends, if Washington has friends, if 
surviving and distinguished statesmen have friends, I invoke them, by the love of country, by the 
high and holy privilegcs^we enjoy, to think of home. I think of home, when your angry passions rise; 
think of the sacred pledges you have left behind you ; think of peace ■ think of the influence you 
can exercise ; think of their felicity ; think of the disastrous consequences and dire dismay that 
the knell of disunion would impart to their throbbing hearts ; think of that, and think of every 
thing that is sacred at home. 

I regret exceedingly ever to allude to what I have done. But on this occasion I feel that if it even 
be regarded as boasting, I will say that when I have been charged with being a deserter from the in- 
terests of the South, and courting favor with the North, I pity the beguilement which has dictated 
the suggestion. What ! forget the South > If I am of the South, can I not recollect the North? 
What is our country ? It is a nation composed of parts, East and West, South and North. It is 
an entirety. There are no fractions in it. It is a unit, and I trust it will so remain. But I have 
been charged with being an alien— an alien — a "deserter." 

Permit me — and I say it because it is history not embellished, it is truth — when I gave the first 
evidence of manhood it was in earnest devotion to the South. Sir, when a stripling I enlisted, a 
private soldier, in the ranks of my countrymen, I took my life in one hand — in my right hand I 
grasped the weapons of war. We marched in quest of the Indian in his lurking place; we met the 
savage in his warpath ; we kindled our fires far in the land of our enemy ; we sat by them until 
morning when the battle came; we met our enemies, they either fled or fell. There I offered the 
richest libation of my youth, the blood of my early manhood, to consecrate the soil to freedom and the 
Union. This was in the centre of the South. Now, war is no more heard on our borders — the 
mountains speak peace, and joy is in all our vallies. The warrior is careless — his arms lie idle — 
he can now point to them and speak to his sons of his valiant deeds. In what I have done, if I 
have contributed my mite to human freedom, I will let history tell, and say to what extent I have 
done it ; or, if I have failed in the offices of humanity, let it be visited upon me. With my gal- 
lant associates I have struck manacles from the limbs of a captive chieftain and restored him, with 
his vanquished comrades, to their nation and their homes, without ransom. I ask no recompense. 
Was not all this done for the South, and am I to be questioned of having a Southern heart, when 
that heart is large enough, I trust, to embrace the whole Union, if not the whole world. [Applause. ] 
And, Mr. President, I must say that I am sorry I cannot offer the prayers of the righteous that 
my petition might be heard. But I beseech those whose piety will permit them reverentially to 
petition, that they will pray for this Union, and ask that He who buildeth up and pulleth down na- 
tions will, in mercy, preserve and unite us. For a nation divided against itself cannot stand. I 
wish, if this Union must be dissolved, that its ruins may be the monument of my grave, and the 
graves of my family. I wish no epitaph to be written to tell that I survived the ruin of this glorious 
Union. [Applause.] 



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